Freeholder Director John Curley is not taking sides in the campaign for Assemblyman Rob Clifton’s seat on the county governing body which will conclude on Saturday with the Title 19 convention of Republican County Committee members at Colts Neck High School.
“We have four very strong, smart and articulate candidates,” said Curley, ” I will be proud to serve with and run with whoever the party gives me on Saturday.”
The successful candidate on Saturday can be sworn in as Freeholder upon resigning from their current office. The new freeholder and Curley will be the presumptive GOP nominees for this fall’s election.
Curley said he expected the election to be a close contest to Holmdel Deputy Mayor Serena DiMaso and Howell Mayor Bob Walsh. He said he is impressed with both Atlantic Highlands Councilman Peter Doyle and Manalapan Committeeman Ryan Green, both of whom are making their first bid for county office. “We’ll be hearing from then again,” he said.
Monmouth County residents are fortunate that the Republican party has such a deep bench of qualified talent. Any of the four municipal office holders seeking to take Assemblyman Rob Clifton’s seat on the Board of Chosen Freeholders on Saturday can do the job and do it well.
Serena DiMaso of Holmdel has distinguished herself as the outstanding choice amongst very good choices.
Atlantic Highlands Councilman Peter Doyle and Manalapan Committeeman Ryan Green, both newcomers to county level politics, each have a great deal of promise. Each has a future in higher office should they continue to pursue it.
Howell Mayor Bob Walsh was the early favorite of this blog. We agree with everything that our friend James Hogan said about Bob in his endorsement, except Jim’s conclusion that Bob is the best candidate at this time. We are impressed with Bob’s political accomplishments, his passion and his entrepreneurial creativity. We appreciate his “big personality.” We’re impressed that he has won over Joe DiBella, his former passionate political adversary.
But we believe that Serena DiMaso will be a better freeholder and a better candidate, at this time.
Serena’s personality is not as big as her heart. She is a rare breed of politician; a truly humble public servant. Her quiet demeanor masks a tough, tenacious and very smart conservative leader.
The Freeholder Board is already occupied by big personalities. We believe that Serena is the perfect replacement for Rob Clifton’s calm, quiet leadership.
We also believe that Serena is the perfect running mate for Freeholder Director John Curley this year and for Freeholder Tom Arnone and Sheriff Shaun Golden next year. As her speaking skills continue to improve…she’s improved remarkably during this brief campaign… Serena will be very difficult for the Democrats to run against. Her record is impressive and she can sell it.
We figured the First Aid Squad gig was a resume builder like many politicians who join their community fire departments so that they use pictures wearing gear in campaign materials. Then we learned that Serena went on over 300 emergency calls last year. What mayor or chair of a hospital foundation does that? How does she do all that? “Dinner is often late to the table and the laundry is done in the middle of the night,” was her answer.
Serena will bring a great, deep, balance to the next two general election tickets and to the Board of Freeholders.
Holmdel Deputy Mayor Serena DiMaso scored a surprisingly strong victory tonight at the Tea Party vetting of Freeholder candidates sponsored by the Bayshore Tea Party Group, the Jersey Shore Tea Party Patriots and the East Jersey Tea Party. The meeting of about 50 people was held at the West Park Recreation Center in Oakhurst.
DiMaso earned 50% of the vote in the four person race with 16 votes. Atlantic Highlands Councilman Peter Doyle got 8 votes followed by Howell Mayor Bob Walsh with 6 votes and Manalapan Committeeman Ryan Green getting 2.
While each of the candidates promoted their accomplishments as municipal leaders and their plans for county government, the Tea Party members were more concerned with federal and constitutional issues, for the most part.
Jersey Shore Patriot leader Mark Falzon said that DiMaso won over the group, which he said was very impressed with all four candidates, on the strength of her commitment to fight to repeal ObamaCare.
Joe Abbruscato of Tinton Falls expressed his frustration about Republican elected officials who seem resigned to the implementation of ObamaCare. Walsh and Green expressed their opposition to ObamaCare. Doyle said he was hopeful that the U.S. Supreme Court would overturn the law. DiMaso said that as a member of the Board of Trustees of Meridian Health and as a physician’s wife, that she is actively fighting ObamaCare and was intimately familiar with the damage it will do to the country.
Brett Rappaport of Manalapan asked what Green said were the toughest questions of the campaign. 1) Name a Republican office holder who should be voted out of office, and 2) name an amendment to the U.S. Constitution that should be repealed.
All four candidates revealed that they are not terribly familiar with the Constitution they have sworn to uphold.
Regarding the “bad Republican” question, DiMaso hit it out of the park, “I’ve done it twice in primaries in Holmdel.” Walsh spoke of running against the party as an Independent in Howell. Green and Doyle punted.
Assuming there is a quorum of 386 present, the Monmouth GOP Committee will elect one of the four candidates to fill the seat vacated by Assemblyman Rob Clifton on Saturday at Colts Neck High School.
The final opportunity to hear all candidates will be on Friday night at the Monmouth Affiliated Republican Club’s candidates night dinner at Doolan’s in Spring Lake.
The candidates to replace Assemblyman-elect Rob Clifton on the Monmouth County Board of Freeholders will not address the Title 19 convention of Monmouth Republican Committee members when they convene on Saturday morning at Colts Neck High School.
Nominations will be accepted from the floor and then the balloting will commence.
Several party leaders told MMM that Chairman Joe Oxley decided on this agenda for the convention out of concern for maintaining a quorum. 50% plus one of the committee’s 770 members must be present during the voting in order for the election to be official.
There is talk among some committee members about making a motion from the floor to allow the candidates to speak.
There will be no problem obtaining a quorum of 386 if the candidates’ head counts are accurate. At a meet and greet hosted by the Atlantic Highlands Republican Committee last night, Howell Mayor Bob Walsh and Holmdel Deputy Mayor Serena DiMaso both told MMM they have 200 votes. Manalapan Township Committeeman Ryan Green said that he counting on at least 150 of the 300 GOP committee members he personally visited. MMM did not talk to Atlantic Highlands Councilman Peter Doyle about his vote count.
The Monmouth County Republican Committee will be electing a Freeholder on Saturday, January 14, to fill the vacancy resulting from Freeholder Director Rob Clifton’s election to the State Assembly.
The candidates are Holmdel Deputy Mayor Serena DiMaso, Atlantic Highlands Councilman Peter Doyle, Manalapan Committeeman Ryan Green and Howell Mayor Bob Walsh.
Tony Fiore was sworn in as Mayor of Middletown. Shaun Golden was sworn in as Monmouth County Sheriff. Tom Arnone was sworn in to his first term as Freeholder. Rob Clifton took the Freeholder Oath of Office for the third time.
Despite the hullabaloo New Jersey’s mainstream media and the Democrats made of Governor Christie and Lt. Governor Guadagno being on vacation at the same time during the December 2010 blizzard, Governor Christie’s approval ratings were very strong, 53% favorable, in the first FDU poll of the year.
A severely mentally ill 22 year old man, Jared Loughner, opened fire on a crowd in Tucson, Arizonia. He killed 6 and injured 14, including Congresswoman Gabby Giffords. The national mainstream media and Democrats in Congress blamed the massacre on the Tea Party and Sarah Palin.President Obama was presidential in calming the rhetoric and healing the nation.
Fair Haven Mayor Mike Halfacre used the digital pages of MoreMonmouthMusings to knock the wheels off a bill sponsored by Assemblywoman Cleopatra Tucker that would have required New Jersey residents register their bicycles with MVC at a cost of $10 per bike, per year.
Governor Christie held a Town Hall meeting in Middletown. During the meeting Christie criticized President Obama’s leadership, a theme that became a staple for Christie throughout the year, causing a draft Christie for President movement among GOP leaders and donors nationally.
The Monmouth County area Tea Parties are coming together to in order to make their presence felt in the upcoming county committee election to replace Assemblyman-elect Rob Clifton on the Monmouth County Board of Freeholders.
Bob Gordon, co-founder of the Bayshore Tea Party Group, says that between the groups there are 25 county committee members eligible to vote on January 14th when the county committee convenes to elect Clifton’s successor. They are potentially a significant voting block.
The Tea Parties extended invitations this afternoon to each of the declared candidates to speak at the January 10th meeting. Following the candidates presentations and a Q and A, a secret ballot will be taken. The winner of the groups’ endorsement will be announced upon the tabulation of the ballots.
Howell Mayor Bob Walsh and Manalapan Deputy Mayor Ryan Green have accepted. Holmdel Deputy Mayor Serena DiMaso is juggling a scheduling conflict. Atlantic Highlands Councilman Peter Doyle has yet to respond, according to Barbara Gonzalez, the another co-founder of BTPG.
Manalapan Deputy Mayor Ryan Green told MMM that he is a candidate to fill Assemblyman-elect Rob Clifton’s Freeholder seat when the Monmouth County Republican Committee holds its election on January 14th.
“I’m throwing my hat into the ring and we’ll see what happens,” said Green, “I think I have a lot I can contribute on the county level.” He said he was running on his record as an elected official in Manalapan since 2005, on both the school board and the township committee. ” We haven’t raised taxes in Manalapan over the last two years, a fact that I am very proud of.”
Green said his Freeholder candidacy won’t impact the incoming Manalapan Township Committee’s plan to elect him Mayor in January. “I’m not counting my chickens before they’re hatched. Manalapan’s reorganization is before the Title 19 convention. I have a great deal of respect for all of my opponents in the Freeholder race.”
Title 19 is the New Jersey statute that governs elections. It requires that vacancies for Freeholder be filled via a county committee election.
Green was encouraged by the positive feedback he received at a recent meeting of the Western Monmouth Republican Chairmen. However, the only chairman’s endorsement he is counting on is that of Manalapan’s Steve McEnry.
Wall Township Mayor Anne Marie Conte will not be a candidate for Freeholder when the Monmouth County Republican Committee meets on January 14 to elect a successor to Assemblyman-elect Rob Clifton, according to Monmouth Republican Affiliated Club President and Wayne’s World Reporter Wayne Pomanowski.
Pomanowski said that Conte called him to asked that her photo and bio be removed from the Affiliated’s website. Reportedly Conte was stung by criticism from Wall Township residents, including an OpEd piece by 2010 Monmouth Democratic Sheriff candidate Eric Brophy published on the Wall Patch, that she was seeking higher office so soon after being reelected to the Township Committee.
Conte was not available for comment.
Pomanowski also said that Manalapan Deputy Mayor Ryan Green is definitely a candidate and that Hazlet Mayor Scott Aagre is close to entering the race. Green’s bio and photo are on the Affiliated site.
